A health board has apologised unreservedly after "multiple failings" were found in its care of a ten-month-old baby who died in hospital.

The child, who had been fitted with a shunt to drain fluid from his brain shortly after birth, was taken by his parents to Aberdeen Royal Children's Hospital in August 2015.

He died following surgery and his parents lodged a complaint against NHS Grampian.

The Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO) reported that there was an unacceptable delay between the first and second operations the child, identified as Baby A, had undergone.

"We identified significant delays in Baby A being reviewed after he underwent operations, and a delay in clinicians contacting the specialist centre for advice on the management of Baby A," the watchdog said.

There was also a lack of communication between consultants involved in the child's care after his condition failed to improve following the first operation, to remove pressure on his brain, the watchdog added.

The findings released on Wednesday detailed the ordeal experienced by the parents, identified as Mr and Mrs C.

The report said: "Mrs C has described the deep distress felt by her and Mr C as a result of the death of Baby A, and my investigation indicates that failings in care likely contributed to this tragic outcome.

"I recognise that the findings of this report will have a further serious impact on them and I acknowledge how difficult it must have been for them to pursue their complaint."

Nine recommendations for action were made.

Responding to the report, a spokeswoman for NHS Grampian said: "It is clear we failed Baby A and, therefore, failed his family.

"The distress of the family was further compounded by the extremely poor standard of our communication with them.

"There can be no excuses for our conduct in this case and we apologise unreservedly.

"We accept all of the recommendations put forward by the ombudsman in this case."